Ever since he took over at Manchester City, Pep Guardiola is said to have desired a veteran centre-back, with Leonardo Bonucci heavily linked during the Spaniard’s first summer in charge.
Getting John Stones instead to bolster his defence, numerous links with a handful of big names have appeared and disappeared as the months went by, but if there’s one man the former Barcelona manager won’t be getting, it’s Giorgio Chiellini.
Speaking ahead of his country’s World Cup qualifying playoff clash against Sweden, the Juventus defender made things very clear: “I would be a fish out of water at Manchester City”.
Why? The main reason is that he doesn’t feel he is the type of player who would fit in Pep Guardiola’s system, as he’s far more old school in the way he plays.
He explained, relayed by Il Messaggero: “It’s true that there is a generational hole, because ‘Guardiolismo’ has ruined a number of Italian defenders. Now, they know how to set attacks up, they develop to play more, and there aren’t any defenders who just mark anymore.”
It’s hard to disagree with the veteran defender, with players required to be more and more technical in today’s football, and ‘old-school’ players quickly going out of fashion.
For us, at least, that’s one less possible rumour to worry about.
